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Ronnie worked for eight hours a week over two days and was paid for approximately 3.7 hours. The rest was voluntary. His parents were invited for a meeting with leisure centre chiefs.

His dad Ronald, 69, said: “I couldn’t believe it. He explained to me that it was down to cutbacks but that Ronnie could still come in on a voluntary basis and nights out at Christmas.”

Later, Ronald and his wife Anne were told that there would be no redundancy or ­compensation.

Ronald added: “Ronnie was told it was due to cutbacks but then he saw a thing in the paper about councillors going on a trip to Korea. There is penny pinching going on but it seems they can find money for some things.”